women in hamlet

Women are seen to be a vehicle for the extension of masculinity within hamlet. The two women in the play, Ophelia and Gertrude, are seen as subliminal and reliant upon men to have a status. During the Elizabethan era, women were seen to be socially and physically inferior to men. These characters have far less stage time then the concern which is given to them by Hamlet.

Gertrude, Hamlets mother, is seen to be fully reliant on men to maintain her societal position within the Court. She quickly remarries after her husband dies and marries to the brother of the deceased. Gertrude is completely unaware of the murder that Claudius has undertook on King Hamlet. This reinforces the idea that women were intellectually inferior as it is implied that she should have known that it was him who had murdered her husband.  Another suggestion is that Gertrude was so desperate, she only married Claudius for his wealth and position. By not being able to stand independently shows that she is a typical Elizabethan woman. Hamlet shows his anger at his mothers behaviour, calling her a ‘whore’ and ‘incestious’. The anger felt at his mother is projected onto the other females in the play and thus hamlet makes Ophilia be inferior due to his disillusionment. He was right to be angry as Elizabethan law and the book of common prayers state that it is wrong to marry your husbands brother, however it strike a remarkable resembelance to Henry VIII who married his older brother’s wife, and their offspring was Mary 1, who had just came out of power.

Like hamlets concerns, Shakespeare sublimities Ophilia by having Laertes obsessing over his sister’s virginity. Ophilia can be seen as a doppelgänger of Gertrude as the two main similarities are their naivety and reliance upon men. The language used by Shakespeare shows how subservient she is. She receives instruction and replies ‘I shall obey, my lord’. The use of submissive language automatically puts Ophillia on a lower social standing then the men, and lower than Gertrude, as she is younger. Not only does this show she has no power, she is also reliant on men to explain how to carry out these acts: ‘I do not know, my lord, what I should think’. The need to seek guidance over her thoughts highlight how weak Ophilia is and how men have to control the lesser females. This is also emphisized by the level of control her family has over her; she is used as a pawn to spy on hamlet and further her farthers influence in the English Court, quite possiably for the power of patronage. Ophilia’s role is to show hamlets misguided view on women and how they should be treated. Ophelia could have possibly been a tragic hero, to conquer her dad's control and gain Hamlet's feelings, however because of her societal status, she is only aminor tragic character. Shakespeare utilizes Ophelia to depict inconstancy of women.

Gertrude's inaction in real life is the thing that permits her to be ruled and controlled by the men throughout her life, yet she is additionally to some degree ignorant and unmindful of her environment. Hamlet believes that Gertrude is acting: “ she followed my poor fathers body […] all tears”, and she expects the same from hamlet. Although she is seen to be curt with her tounge and rude to hamlet, she is controlled and influenced by Claudius. Contextually, the husband has control over the wife and this is a prime example. These shows how inferior she is as she can not think for herself.   

Ophilia and Gertrude both die a feminine death to show how weak women are and the role of them dying is for the men, showing again the power they hold. Ophilia dies because of the lack of love from hamlet and the death of her father, both of whom had significant control over her. Gertrude inevitably dies as a result of hamlets duel and claudius’ feelings. By making them both die of fluids, it highlights the feminity as it was known to be a easy death. Gertrudes sppech on ophilias suicide shows the fraility of women. ‘sweets for the sweet’ is significant as it shows women as innocent and with flowers symbolize ‘a young maiden’.

In conclusion, Shakespeare uses women to enhance the masculinity of the main characters. Both characters are extremely subvient and controlled almost fully by men. Although they play a minor role in the play, their impact was large and important in the play.